Keith Martin

Through happenstance, SCMer Chris Bright and I ended up living a floor apart in the same condo. As you wind down through our building’s four levels of underground parking, you see some unusual cars. The most mysterious is covered, but a discerning eye can spot the sensuous lines of a 1956 Maserati 350S. Chris has…

The 2025 NW Passage — Spring, an annual tour put on by the Porsche Club of America Oregon Region, is fast approaching. From June 11-16, some 40 sports cars, mostly late-model Porsches, will set off on a 1,500-mile romp through the Pacific Northwest. Stops include Leavenworth, WA, Sandpoint, ID, and Walla Walla, WA. SCM has…

I’ve been attending the Portland Swap Meet for more than 30 years. It is billed as the largest auto swap meet on the West Coast. In the early, pre-internet days, walking though the swap meet gates was like dropping into an Alice in Wonderland hole with no idea what magical things you would find inside.…

Long-time readers will remember that I suffered a stroke in January 2019. Ever since, my left leg has been too weak to depress a clutch, and I have not been able to drive a manual-shift car. I have been working at physical therapy every day, and it has begun to pay dividends. Last week, I…

My son Bradley and I had spent two good-weather days driving a pair of our classics that were cumulatively more than a century old. On an atypically sunny Thursday and Friday, we put 100 miles each on the 1971 Jaguar E-type V12 and 1975 Porsche 911S. On Saturday, we were headed to an event with…

As I mentioned last week, it’s been a cold, wet miserable winter, even for Oregon. So when three days of bright, 60-degree sunshine came along, we “seized the moment.” After spending a day behind the wheel of the SCM 1971 Jaguar E-type, with its pre-emission 5.3-liter V12 and 272 horses, on Friday we opted for…

Our winter has been cold and wet, even by Oregon standards, including some snow last month. With some sunny days in the forecast and temperatures above 50 degrees, I had dedicated last week to exercising our classics. As trickle chargers are not allowed by my condo homeowner association, I have to be diligent in my…

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about a low-miles (187 to be exact) 2001 Mercedes-Benz SL600 that sold for $193,500 on Bring a Trailer, including buyer’s premium. We remarked that this is no longer a car but an artifact. It’s unknown whether this car was “pickled” before it was put into storage (fluids drained,…

One of the great features of online auctions is their transparency.  You can see how many times a car has been listed, read all the comments for each listing, see what the previous high bid was and whether the car sold or not. Also, at least with Bring a Trailer, by clicking on the bidder’s…

There’s a new classic car tour here in the Pacific Northwest: The Emerald Invitational, conducted by Vintage Underground, a high-end restoration facility located in Eugene, OR. This is an all-inclusive tour, with accommodations and dining included, happening July 6 – 10. It’s limited to just 35 cars, built before 1974 (or by application). I have…